Paludumia proper
Thornia is a province of Ume. Its capital is Marsh Town, located on the western part of Steaker's Bay in the swampy Thornica district. It is responsible for territory from North Ume to the deserts of Araloi. Thornia is the richest region outside of Ume province. Most of its wealth comes from mining, timber, and animal farming. Thornia and Xandu have close economic relations and cooperate on areas such as food science and agricultural technology. History Early years (5780s-5804) Umic entry into the region started with the founding of Thornia. Thornica was founded by South Seas Company employees who were in search of a quick route to the Araloi/Sava desert some time in the 5780s. Due to the lack of knowledge regarding the regions north of Ume, they were often stuck in the swamps and ran out of supplies quickly. They managed to find their way back to the southern coast and came across Steaker's Island (where Thornica is located), and named it so due to the large number of cows inhabiting the island. A farm was established on the hinterland north of Steaker's Island to prepare for colonisation further inland. The rest of the Thornica swamps were explored thanks to Thornica's early self-sufficiency. By the 5790s, the route to the north was discovered and Umic sailors discovered Araloi and Thataga. Beginning of industrialisation (5804-5811) The colony remained relatively unimportant during the early 5800s, and was often criticised by prominent citizens in Ume as being damaging to the then-city-state's aim of focusing all their economic and military efforts within the Umic plains. The South Seas Company made timber Thornia's main export but the development of tree farming estates in Ume City almost immediately extinguished hopes. Farming was also considered as another possible industry. Cows on Steaker's Island were bred and the leather industry in Thornia started, albeit slowly. Mining activities started around the time of the fourth republic (5804). The exploration of mines throughout the Thornica district gave Thornia access to vast amounts of minerals which allowed Thornia to industrialise on its own in parallel to Ume City. Thornia's newfound wealth allowed the colony to urbanise, and mineral processing infrastructure was built up in the colony's capital. Thornia eventually integrated into Ume in the fourth republic. De facto independence (5811-5900) Frustration with Ume City's demands for Thornia's urbanisation and industrialisation to be slowed down so that more resources could go straight to the capital was met with anger from Thornian citizens. Thornia's ruling class established the Kingdom of Oster in 5811 as an autonomous monarchy within the newly reformed Umic state. The state was renamed to Aeothaer in 5821, and then to Thornia in 5829. World War and Umic Civil War (5828-5890) Thornia's state army participated in the early stages of the World War, especially in the Umic invasion of Xandu. However, Thornia's state government withdrew its forces from the federation's overall war effort as the conflict became increasingly expensive and the state feared an invasion from Xandunese Shantouxian. The state managed to sit out of the war as well as the Umic Civil War. The sudden collapse of the central Umic government made Thornica the most powerful region within the former Umic empire, but it abstained from taking advantage of that situation and allowed southern Ume to fall to opposing liberal and socialist forces. As a part of United Earth (5890-5900) Thornica became a constituent region within United Earth, and managed to keep most of its core territory around Thornia proper, Goruid, and the Thataga Islands. Thornia's economy faced stagnation as the insurgency on the mainland almost destroyed local economies in central Ume, Greater Shanjing, and northern Bircatyavyli, causing demand for metals to fall. The aftermath of the insurgency forced regional leaders to agree to the reformation of the pre-war order in the Congress of Shanjing. As a province of the Federation of Umia (2019-Present) Thornia, Ume, and Yhuga re-established close relations and established the Association of Umic States in preparation for the reunification of the Umic empire. This came to fruition with the reunification of Ume and Thornia as the State of Ume. New urbanisation plans around Steaker's Bay have since been made, which would make Thornica one of the world's biggest cities. New economic projects are also being planned to enhance the leather and mining industries with plans for an extensive highway system across the region being one of the objectives. New station settlements are to be built along the highway, which will also connect villages in Thornia's eastern areas. A welfare program is currently being planned to hopefully entice immigration into Thornia.